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Q&A
Funding for impartial hearings and litigation of due process cases
0:31:41
ยท
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Public Advocate Williams inquires about the funding allocated for impartial hearings and litigation of due process cases in special education. DOE officials provide a breakdown of costs and explain recent changes to the system.
- The $1.35 billion figure covers all costs involved in due process, including transportation, services, legal costs, and tuition payments.
- IESP cases make up a larger number of the cases filed.
- The figure doesn't include the budget for the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH), which was set up to handle the increased number of cases more efficiently.
- The DOE is working on getting a better understanding of the actual cost of due process cases for specific service years, as the current figure includes payments for previous years as well.
Jumaane Williams
0:31:41
Okay.
0:31:42
So right now, we don't have a we don't have a number, basically.
0:31:45
Okay.
0:31:47
How much funding goes to impartial hearings and legal for litigation of due process?
Liz Vladeck
0:31:57
Thanks, public advocate, for your question.
0:31:59
The 1.3 $5,000,000,000 that you noted earlier, covers all of the costs involved in due process.
0:32:07
I wanna make clear that IESP cases are a far larger number of the cases filed.
0:32:14
But in general, that number represents transportation, services, legal costs, legal fees, as well as, tuition payments.
0:32:25
I'd also like to note that our 1,350,000,000 does not include the budget of the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings.
0:32:34
Some folks may recall that several years ago, we were having trouble timely processing due process cases because of the explosion in the number of cases filed.
0:32:46
The city and the state work together to set up a permanent full time tribunal at Oath, the first of its kind.
0:32:53
They have staffed up with dozens of employees, administrative law judges, who are able to move these cases much faster, but the cost of doing so is not part of that 1,350,000,000.
Jumaane Williams
0:33:05
Do you know how much that is?
Liz Vladeck
0:33:06
I do not.
0:33:07
And if I may say one other thing, about the 1,350,000,000, We are trying to break out we're trying to get a better handle on the actual cost of due process cases in the particular service year.
0:33:26
So the 1,350,000,000,000 actually represents payments that we made not only for last service year, the same school year, but for prior service years as well.